


01:00 (Starless nights)

by a_whisper_to_a_riot



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Bittersweet, Drugs, F/M, High School, Melancholy, Multi, Partying, Underage Drinking, rich kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 17:09:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12085530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_whisper_to_a_riot/pseuds/a_whisper_to_a_riot
Summary: Yoongi was her brother,Jungkook was her neighbour,Taehyung was her only friend,and the world was Kayi's.Chaos, pain and a love triangle.





	1. 00:01

**Author's Note:**

> Originally on AFF (http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1167823/)

            Like many of his other Friday nights Jungkook found himself sitting at his neighbourhood bus stop but with each bus that came and go he never got on, only waited and checked if she was on any of them. The difference tonight was that she was late, it was about two hours since she was supposed to return and it was just so typical of her to not answer her phone. This was not the first time she did not come back on time and he felt even more anxious at the thought of what happened the last time she came home late, he shuddered slightly at the memory and he really hoped she would show up soon on the final bus otherwise he would have to go out and look for her.

            He sighed as he rubbed his neck, his fatigue catching up with him after a long day at school and spending his afternoon trying to come up with another creative way to convince Kayi to stay at home then of course failing. In the years he’s known her he’s managed to develop a huge crush on the girl a year older than him and it’s been killing him to see her go out almost every evening and coming home disorientated and wasted on god knows what. Then there was the time she did not come back at all and got home the next day crying and he never wanted to see her in that state again so Jungkook made it his sole mission to wait for her every night she went out, knowing that he would not be able to stop her from leaving, but at least he could ensure she returned.

            Finally the last bus for the evening arrived and Jungkook waited uneasily as it pulled into the stop, he held his breath when the bus finally came to a proper stop and he stood up as he hoped she would just stumble out like she always did. He felt a great relief when he spotted the familiar dyed blonde hair wobbling through the bus but this time when she alighted off the bus there was someone else with her – a guy.

 

          **-**

 

            Kayi woke with a pounding headache. From what she could tell from the sunlight peeking through her curtains it was sometime midday, she groaned as she rolled over looking for her phone to check for the time and she frowned when she could not find it and instead realised that she was still in her dirty clothes from last night and her hair felt completely rigid under her neck… but at least she was in her own bed. The moment she sat up she was immediately aware of the searing pain in her ankle, with a suppressed gasp she yanked the covers off her legs and frowned at the unfamiliar sight of her own bandaged foot; she did not have a clue how she got that, in fact she did not remember how she got home at all but if she had to guess Jungkook probably had something to do with her getting to bed mostly in one piece.

            She winced when both her feet touched the ground and she figured that it would probably be some time before she could walk without limping (the pain she would just have to get used to), she forced herself up despite the pain and throbbing from both her foot and her head and she slowly made her way over to her closet where she grabbed a change of clothes before heading for a shower. On her way out a buzzing appeared somewhere in her room, identifying it as her phone she glanced around and eventually found it ringing in her purse that had been hidden under a thrown jacket. She fiddled with the metal latch of her purse and when she finally got her hands on her phone she saw that the number was not one that she recognised so she simply rejected the call and left it on her end table for her to check later, at least she managed to find out it was four in the afternoon.

In the hallway she bumped into her brother who showed her almost no regard as he walked straight past her back into his own bedroom, it was usual from him and she should not have expected anything different but he could at least be a little concerned about her getting hurt being the one in charge of the house and all while their dad was away overseas.

            The bandaged foot made the shower quite an obstacle, she did not even know what was wrong with it after all but she decided it was probably okay to wet since it did not seem as if she was bleeding (even if it was she did not care enough to let it prevent her from cleaning up). She washed up the best she could, scrubbing away all of last night’s makeup that had gone cakey on her face and shampooing her blonde hair that might as well resembled straw at this point. After she was done showering she got dressed and wanted to head back to sleep right away but instead she found her brother waiting outside in the corridor, he was staring back at her with a look of indifference that already told that he was unimpressed with her without saying a word.

            “… You just had to go and soak those bandages…” Yoongi murmured as he glanced down to see the soppy bandages latched around her ankle. “We’ll have to change them now.”

            “Well maybe you could have said something sooner _oppa_ ,” she said sarcastically and she noted the way his eyes narrowed on her, he never liked it when she gave him attitude and she honestly did not have the effort to argue but she could not help but be annoyed he waited until after she had done it to tell her she was not supposed to; it was always like he was waiting just to catch her out when she messed up. “… I can change them myself.”

            “Yeah you should… unless you want to trouble Jungkook again,” he shrugged and he walked away with a final cold side-eyed look at her, she watched silently as he headed down the corridor and down the stairs. “Well I left the first aid kit in your room.”

            “Wait, where are you going?” she hurried to the ledge and yelled after him down the stairs, she could still see the top of his lightly dyed head as he moved slowly down each step but he did not bother to look up when he reached the bottom. “Oppa!”

            “Seeing some friends… I won’t be back until after midnight,” he called back in the same lethargic voice. “You shouldn’t go out for a while… what you had last night wasn’t good for you… be good and sleep it off, okay?”

            “… Yeah,” she replied, more at herself than to her brother who had already disappeared further below their house. She stayed by the stairwell as she listened to his footsteps grow fainter until she heard the front door open and slam shut, she let out a heavy sigh once the silence engulfed the house; even though they did not get along well Yoongi always seemed to know what she needed and right now that was sleep, she did not have a clue what he meant by what she ‘had last night’ and honestly she was probably better off now knowing but she wondered how he found out. It could have been Jungkook but at the same time he was not all that familiar with these sorts of things.

            At the thought of Jungkook she decided that she needed to thank him the next time she saw him, it was not the first time he had to drag her unconscious self home last night, and it certainly would not be the last but if what her brother said was true he also helped her with her foot. Before getting back under the sheets she undid the wet bandages and examined the purple swell on her ankle, it hurt to touch when she tried to apply an ointment and frankly she just was not bothered to fix new bandages with her head already feeling like it was about to implode.

            So she slowly moved towards her bed as she tried to rub the dulling numbness out of her head but every movement only seemed to feed and amplify the discomfort. She took a deep breath as she lied back down on her bed and softly closed her eyes, hoping to just go back to sleep and let the pain melt away, and for a moment it was actually working and she felt the terrible throbbing begin to subside until her phone began buzzing next to her.

            It was the unrecognisable number again and Kayi muted it without hesitation before tossing it back and slumping back down into her pillow. It seemed the caller was pretty damned persistent, according to the logs this was already the sixth time they called since last night and she felt less willing to pick up at the thought of what kind of stubborn guy could be on the other end; she was annoyed at herself for giving her number out without a second thought to just about every cute face when she had no real intentions of following up once she was sober.

            The phone buzzed again and she exhaled tiredly as she reached over again with every thought of just blocking the number but it turned out to be a message from her neighbor. She smiled slightly when she read his overly concerned message and replied with a one worded answer – ‘yes’.

            Less than five minutes later she heard the front door open then slam, and she listened hard for his near silent footsteps as he climbed the stairs. She felt her headache ease when she heard him at the end of the hall calling for Yoongi but when he worked out no one else was home he began walking this way to her bedroom.

            “Jungkookie,” she sat up and grinned when he stepped through the door, he looked less than amused as she was as he shut the door behind him. He stared back at her infuriatingly pleasant smile as he walked in, his eyes briefly glancing down to her legs when he stepped at her bedside.

            “Noona, your bandages…”

            “They got wet in the shower,” she smiled back innocently. “… You’re angry.”

            “I’m not,” he sighed as he sat at the end of her bed and reached for the first aid kid left by her brother on the foot of the bed. “How are you feeling?” he spoke without looking up as he rummaged through the box looking for the items he needed.

            “Tired,” she watched as he flipped the blanket over fully to reveal her bare feet and also much of her legs. She shivered slightly at the sudden cold and Jungkook licked his chapped lips as he carefully reached the injured foot that was identifiable by the redness and swell.

            “What happened last night?” he was looking at her now, slowly beginning to meet her eyes. “You came back late and with-.”

            He was interrupted by her giggles when his fingers brushed over the flat of her foot. She managed to cough out an apology as she tried to hold back her laughter but it was even funnier now with him staring back at her with his wide-eyed look of dreaded shock all the while still clutching onto her bruised foot. “You know I’m ticklish there… sorry…”

            Jungkook’s gaze softened when she smiled sheepishly at him, if he did not know her better he would have thought she was embarrassed but if he knew one thing about Min Kayi it was that she was completely shameless… not that she did not have an affect on him. He lowered his gaze as a shy smile appeared on his own lips, he could never hold her gaze for too long; after all she has been having a terribly strong affect on him for years now.

            Without wanting to ruin the moment further he just began to quietly wrap her foot to keep it from swelling any further. Kayi suddenly sighed when he lightly squeezed her strained muscles, she did not take notice of his growingly red face as she purred for him to continue.

“Noona…” he murmured when his fingers slide upwards and gently caressed her calves.

“Hm?” she sighed back, slightly writhing into her sheets as he carried on massaging her, his hands slowly worked upwards with each sigh of approval from her. “Ah… that feels nice.”

            Jungkook paused only just realising himself that he was gripping her soft thighs and had started to climb onto the bed to hover over her.

            “Noona, you should be more careful who you let touch you,” he quickly blurted out as he retracted his hands much to Kayi’s displeasure as she vocalised with a disappointed groan. She turned to him and watched him get up and hold his hands together bashfully, he was such a nice boy, he’s always been so gentle and never crossing boundaries that she never even drawn.

            “But you’re not like the rest of them, are you?” she half smiled knowingly, the unexpected serious tone of her voice caught his attention but before he could understand the meaning behind her words she already lied back down and pulled the covers over her body. “Thank you Jungkook… for everything you did for me last night and today.”

            “You’re welcome, noona.”

 

 

 

            Kayi woke up again later in the day, according to her phone she’s been asleep for another four hours making it around eight now and there were another two missed calls. Her head was feeling less groggy but her body was still heavy as she lifted herself off the bed and slowly climbed out. She winced in pain at immediate contact to the floor and carefully moved through the dark room towards the door.

            The light in the corridor was on and she noticed there was sound coming from the living room downstairs, she lumped over to the stairwell and she could hear the faint echoing of the television. Kayi gingerly lowered her injured foot down onto the step, testing her own pain tolerance and when it seemed to be fine she took another step, she was making decent but slow progress when she suddenly felt a searing pain in her ankle and she cried out as she lost balance and fell back on her bum; thank goodness she had been holding onto the railings otherwise she could have taken a nasty tumble down the hard steps.

            She heard Jungkook’s voice and his quick footsteps up the stairs almost immediately after her near fall.

            “Noona…?!” Jungkook appeared before her, his eyes wide with concern and he was breathing heavily after racing up three flights of stairs in ten seconds flat. He kneeled down and looked her over conscientiously and after he confirmed that she was unhurt from her little stumble he let out a sigh. She watched as the tension left him and his shoulders relaxed. “Can you stand up?”

            “Yeah…” she eventually got up with his help, she gripped his hands tightly fearing she may fall over again. “Don’t know about walking though…”

            Jungkook pressed his lips together as he took a step back on the stairs, his gaze ever leaving hers as he nodded for her to take a try. Kayi felt a lot better with Jungkook here prepared to jump for her if she even so much as flinched, she squeezed his hands as she stepped towards him and when she appeared to have been fine, he took another step down the stairs and waited for her to follow patiently.

            “… You’re really just going to guide me down one step at a time?” she managed a half smile. “You’ve certainly gotten manly at high school.”

            “Was I not manly all those times I brought you home from the bus stop?”

            “… I’m afraid I don’t remember those times very well,” she laughed and he too smiled with a tiny shake of his head.

            They eventually reached the bottom and Jungkook helped her into the living room before he left, he murmured something she didn’t catch on his way out of the room. Confused, she called after him but instead of a response she heard the front door close.

            Kayi stood there flabbergasted and not sure what to do until the loud TV became a prompt reminder, she hobbled over and crashed onto the large sofa where she muted the TV using the remote. Kayi was able to relax now that it was nice and quiet, she smirked when she saw that Jungkook had been watching anime; it wasn’t exactly a secret and there was nothing wrong with it but Jungkook was usually a bit shy about it, he and her brother used to binge watch episodes together when they were younger and Jungkook had a habit of switching the TV off whenever Kayi was near the living room, it annoyed Yoongi to no ends but they ended up solving it rather simply by crossing the street and watching at Jungkook’s house instead.

            Jungkook returned armed with a stack of food delivery pamphlets, it turned out that he had wanted to make dinner but with cooking not being one of his strong suits he didn’t know where to even begin, and it certainly didn’t help that their fridge was almost always empty so he returned with every pamphlet his family kept.

            She suggested getting fried chicken out of the many choices and Jungkook’s eyes brightened as he nodded, they decided on two combo meals and Jungkook headed into the kitchen to make the order on his phone. Kayi sighed as she rested her head back on the cushion and stretched her legs out onto the large sofa, she still felt exhausted even though she’s slept through the whole day and she got the feeling the headache was going to stay with her until she had something to eat but it suddenly felt so terrible she was wincing.

            “Jungkook…” she called out meekly. “There’s some aspirin in the cupboard above the microwave… could you bring me some with water?”

            “… I can’t do that,” Jungkook reappeared with just the glass of water and was looking rather uncomfortable. “Yoongi-hyung told me not to let you have any medicine…”

            “What?” she wasn’t sure she heard right as she was given the glass of water. “Why?”

            “He said if you took extra drugs it might make you sick because of… whatever you took last night,” Jungkook sat next to her feet on the end of the sofa, he was looking a little more than uncomfortable right now and she knew he did not exactly support hers and her brother’s lifestyle. “… Can you tell me what happened?”

            “I… honestly don’t remember,” she stared at the cup in her hands and slowly sipped the water that felt almost heavenly to her parched throat. She sat up slightly to place the cup on the coffee table and whilst perched up she noticed Jungkook looking at her, staring at her with that hollow expression that made her feel more broken than she was. “Jungkook…”

            Kayi’s eyes fell downcast for a brief moment before she looked back to him with a crooked smile, she could tell he was surprised when she slowly crawled over to him, using her knees mostly minding her injured foot, and hugged his arm tightly. She felt him freeze then relax when she rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for worrying about me… but I’ll be okay.”

            “Can you promise me, noona?” his arm shifted slightly in her hold and she turned her head to face him, she didn’t realise how close his face was to hers and she looked back at him beadily. “Promise you won’t do anything reckless again?”

            “… Do you want me to make a promise I won’t keep?”

            “No… just… take care,” he blinked back with a forced tightlipped smile before he took a deep breath and raised an arm around her and resting it on the sofa’s low backrest behind her. It was obvious he was tired too, he probably spent his whole afternoon here waiting on her and she couldn’t help but smile as she thought how undeserving she was of his kindness. Kayi studied his calm expression for another few seconds before she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

            “Thanks Jungkookie~,” she grinned back at his startled look and lowered her head onto his shoulder again. “You really are too good to be true~.”

            They stayed like that for the next few minutes, staring at the muted television flashing in the otherwise dark room, she thought Jungkook would at least give her some response but she supposed it wasn’t abnormal for him to remain silent and that was one of the things she liked about him; he was just so relaxing to be around and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Kayi felt her eyes grow heavy and the pictures on screen began to blur, she snuggled deeper into Jungkook until her face was nuzzling his chest and she felt his arm lower from the sofa to hold her.

            “Noona…” she could feel his warmth looming over her and she opened her eyes to see his face craned down right above hers. Kayi’s eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips as her own mouth moistened as she suddenly felt very warm almost engulfed in his body heat. Jungkook noticed her eye movements and knew they were thinking the same thing, without thinking he slowly lowered his face until their lips were only a few mere centimetres apart. “… Kayi-noona, I want-.”

            Jungkook’s sharp senses caught onto something and he looked up moments before the front door slammed open, his jaw tightened when he heard fumbling and a girl’s shrill laughter from the foyer. Jungkook turned back to Kayi and saw the way her expression darkened as she too was staring at the hallway waiting to see who would show up, and she straight up growled when her brother and his girlfriend finally came into view. They hadn’t even noticed Kayi and Jungkook on the sofa yet as they stumbled into the kitchen which was right beside the living room, it was only after Yoongi poured himself some water did he finally spot them on the sofa.

            “… Kayi, you’re up…” Yoongi stated dully.  “And Jungkook you’re still here…”

            “What is she doing here?” Kayi climbed out of Jungkook’s hold, almost completely forgotten the moment before they were interrupted, and glared at the couple, mostly at the other girl but she was still upset by the turn of events. The last person she wanted to see was her brother’s raging bitch of a girlfriend and she was already boiling by the way she was looking back at her. “Well oppa?”

            “She’s staying over,” Yoongi replied matter-of-factly as he reached for his girlfriend’s hand wanting to avoid the confrontation all together. “Let’s go.”

            Kayi watched in disbelief as her brother led them out of the room and heard them go up the stairs, she was fuming and had every thought to chase after them and raise hell but Jungkook held her shoulder with a shake of his head and told her it wasn’t worth it. She stared back at him in consideration of his words before sighing and shook his hand off her shoulder, she sat back down and pressed her palms against her face out of frustration and made a sound resembling a muffled groan. “He actually brought the bitch here, the nerve…”

             She stayed like that for a while, mumbling under her breath and just ever so slightly rocking back and forth, Jungkook knew there wasn’t anything he could do for her so he just sat with her quietly.

            The doorbell eventually rang and Jungkook left her to get the door, Kayi glanced to the hallway where she could hear him greet the deliveryman and she eventually heard Jungkook call inside and ask if she could bring him his wallet. Kayi looked around and found his wallet under a cushion, she hurried through the kitchen as fast as her foot would allow her and handed Jungkook the wallet.

            “Ah, I’m sorry I forgot about the foot,” Jungkook looked regretful when he saw her.

            “It’s fine,” she shook her head as she looked downwards to her own feet, she stared at the bandages for a while before she noticed something else below the foyer step. As she stared Jungkook paid the deliveryman and received their large bag of food, he shut the door and expected Kayi to already be headed back inside but she was still standing behind him staring at the ground.

            “Noona?”

            “… Let’s throw her shoes out,” a brilliant grin appeared on her lips as she limped past him and reached down for the strappy pair of heels. She swiped them off the ground and walked out into the lawn with just her slippers on, Jungkook followed her in mild panic not knowing what she was doing or if he should be stopping her but she stopped at the edge of the street and tossed the heels into the neighborhood dumpster. “I don't think I’ll be able to stand being in the same house as them, can we eat at yours?”

            Jungkook smiled back with a small sigh, he was holding the chicken and they were right across the street anyway. “Yeah sure, why not.”

 


	2. 00;02

            A week went by painfully slowly, it was annoying enough hurting to walk and being cooped up at home since she was unable to go to school but Yoongi had also tasked Jungkook with keeping an eye on her to keep her from leaving the house for any reason while he was gone, at first Kayi thought she would be able to persuade Jungkook if not even slip past him but it was proven difficult with him shockingly adamant on keeping her at home. He had been nice enough with his warnings, he has always been soft-spoken around her after all, but he really surprised her by chasing after her wearing his pajamas and completely barefoot then carrying her back on his shoulder the one time she managed to make it to the bus stop.

            Since then she has given up on sneaking out, that was up until Friday night when Jungkook had a taekwondo tournament with his school. She had already missed the week’s fun and she felt as if she was going to go mad just hanging around the large empty house all day and night, plus her foot has pretty much healed.

            It was the weekend so her brother would usually be out the door by nine and he would head over to that basement club he liked to frequent, it would be easy enough to avoid running into him; even though the club was in a same area she normally went to she has only been once before and Yoongi did not exactly let her have a pleasant experience much less make her feel welcomed at all. After that incident Kayi made it her highest priority and rule to stay away from her brother’s hangout… and him in general when they were out, the awkwardness could be overlooked but he just went out of his way to make her feel uncomfortable.

            When she heard the front door close she slowly crept out into the corridor and peeked out the window to see Yoongi’s head disappearing down the road from the window, as soon as he was out of view she hurried back into her room and started to get ready. The swelling on her foot had gotten heaps better but there was still a dark bruise that hurt to touch but thankfully it no longer hurt to walk. She tore off the pajamas that she had said goodbye to Yoongi in and reached for something more suitable for the night out, she was in no real rush but for some reason she was practically throwing on her clothes and makeup; she assumed it may just have been her piled up anxiousness finally reaching its limits. It took her about twenty minutes to finish her makeup and after smoothing out her hair she walked around her room gathering all her items to put in a new purse, the last one she went out with suffered an ugly stain and she would have to wash it some other time so for now she emptied it out and stuffed everything into the new purse.

            After making sure she had everything she headed out into the corridor and down the stairs, as she moved she turned off each light that she passed by until she was standing in the only lit part of the house. She looked through the shelves for an appropriate pair of shoes she could walk around comfortably in, she had the perfect pair in mind but she was having trouble finding them, Kayi rummaged through accidentally knocking other shoes to the ground but she frowned when she realised they were missing. It must have been Yoongi or Jungkook, more so Yoongi since her sweet neighbor would not be so cruel as to take away her only comfortable shoes when she was still technically injured.

            With a low sigh she bent over and began gathering the shoes that had dropped out.

            “What are you doing?” Yoongi’s voice cut through the silence like a blade, it completely caught Kayi off guard and she dropped the shoes that she had already picked off the ground. “Were you thinking of going somewhere?”

            “Yeah… just out for a late dinner with my friends,” Kayi gave him a sweet smile that would have looked convincingly to anyone else but her brother. “It is Friday night.”

            “Dinner with who?” he asked expectantly.

            “… You don’t know them,” she looked away when his expression suddenly turned sour, she wondered why he suddenly got mad; did she say something wrong? … Was he expecting her to say a specific name? “Uh-.”

            “Go back to your room Kayi,” he eyed her blankly now, making it very clear he had little interest in her weak excuses. “Wait for Jungkook to come back and have dinner with him.”

            “… And you’re going out, right?”

            “Yeah?” he looked at her strangely, as if it should have come naturally to her without asking.

            “So its ok for you and not me?” she almost wanted to take it back the moment she said it, the look he gave her shook her to the bones. Her brother sometimes terrified her so much that it made her just want to apologise and run back up the stairs but she stood her ground before Yoongi who looked about ready to smack her.

            “The difference between us is that I don’t get so wasted that I’m unable to come back home myself,” Yoongi said perhaps sounding a little too calm compared to his expression. “Don’t be so childish.”

            “That’s not fair, you’ve done the same things in the past,” she shook her head as she stepped towards him. “And you always have your friends to help you out.”

            “Yes and one of them had to drag you home last week you sprained your foot.”

            “… What?” this was certainly news to her. “Wasn’t it Jungkook that brought me back?”

            “And how do you think you got back to our neighborhood when you were wasted and half out of your mind?” Yoongi’s voice deepened as he in turn took a step towards her, towering her grimly. “Hoseok spotted you being lured away by some guys… and who knows what could have happened if he didn’t happen to see you.”

            “… Well is that it? I can tell you I’ll thank Hoseok and try to be more careful from now on but you still won’t be satisfied with that, right?”

            “Don’t make this about me, Kayi,” Yoongi nearly growled at her and she quickly glanced down to spare herself from his chilling gaze. “This is about you not taking better care of yourself! This is about you not valuing yourself enough!”

            “…” Kayi flinched when he yelled the last few words at her, she could hear him panting and feel his presence looming over her. Her lips twitched as her breath began to leave her, a pit was forming in her stomach and she wanted to do nothing more than to let the tears she was holding in fall. “T-Then what would you have me do? … Just sit at home all day and night? … Study? Because that worked out so well for you.”

            “… Look, I don’t know…” he sighed back when he saw her shoulders shaking, feeling slightly guilty that the situation had escalated as much as it has. It was unusual for them to speak more than two sentences to each other much less having a yelling match. “Something normal… this was never the kind of life for you.”

            Kayi was quiet for a long while, the tears have stopped threatening to fall and her anxiety was replaced by bubbling anger for his hypocrisy. “A life like what? It’s the exact same things you do, you’re the same as me so what right do you have to judge me? … And at least I have the decency to not ruin other people’s lives!”

            She looked up steadily, expecting to see Yoongi looking impassive and for him to just simply brush her off with one of his usual cold reactions but he had a dark unreadable look on his face, his gaze was piercing under his fringe and she actually flinched when he stepped forward – they have finally passed the point of no return.

            “So this was about him?” Yoongi murmured. “All this? This past year _he_ was what all the fuss was about? … And you really believe it’s my fault?”

            “… Obviously, he would still be here if it weren’t for you.”

            “… You were always dumb but I didn’t think you would be stupid enough to ruin yourself over some guy,” he finally sighed, even if his anger seemed to have subsided quite a bit and he looked worn from their argument his words still stung like venom. “Grow the fuck up and move on, Kayi… I have… he has…”

            Yoongi instantly regretted it when she visibly trembled and her eyes turned watery again… except this time the tears fell. Not only had he been too harsh but it was undeserved, of course it was only natural for her to still be upset the guy she loved was no longer around and Yoongi was mostly culpable.

            “I’m going… just- don’t get in any more trouble,” he then walked past her silently towards the front door, as he passed by he opened his side of the cabinet. “If you’re going out anyway wear something that won’t ruin your healing foot…”

            Just like that he left and Kayi immediately crumbled to the ground the moment the front door shut, she huffed out rapid breaths as held back anymore tears, her thoughts were a blur and she only thing she wanted at this very moment was to forget and to be have the warmth of another. She curled her legs up and wrapped an arm around her knees as she anxiously made a phone call with her other hand, she slowly rocked back and forth as the dialing tone beeped on and she only felt more dreadful with each passing second Jungkook didn’t pick up.

            “Jungkookie… Jungkookie…” she was near tears again when it became apparent he was not going to pick up, she tried again really hoping he would but it yielded the same results.

            Unable to bear the thought of staying by herself for the next few hours she scrambled to her feet and headed towards the open cabinet to look for her shoes that Yoongi had hidden away. There was not a sign of her dirty pair of canvas shoes inside his shoe cabinet and only rows of his expensive sneakers, she then realised he must not have taken her shoes when she noticed he had pulled out an older pair of his sneakers from a few years ago. She felt the pit return in her stomach and she quickly swallowed the shame before it broke her into another fit of messy sobs.

            She hurriedly put the sneakers on and found that they fitted surprisingly well for a pair of her brother’s old shoes, the shoe itself was pretty worn out but the laces were brand new, she tried to remember when she has seen Yoongi ever wear these… it must have been from secondary school but she could not recall at all… she just never paid her big brother much attention the last few years.

 

 

**-**

 

 

            Kayi exhaled a deep breath when she stepped into the club, she closed her eyes as she took in the familiar scent of smoke mixed with delightful whiffs of perfumes, and she especially welcomed the dull pounding in her ears from the heavy bass of the speakers. All her previous thoughts and doubts began to erase when she took her first sip of her complimentary drink, it was not strong – hell, she knew these clubs watered down their free drinks but it was enough to slightly ease her mind to a better place.

            The usual club was already pretty crowded since she arrived late and the dance floor was already packed with people, though on closer look it was a different crowd from what she was used to, she noticed that there were more adults than usual and it seemed they were part of a work function of some sorts… it was not necessarily worrying but it was still unusual. Kayi’s eyes felt fluttery as she surveyed the bar area and wondered if she should switch to a different club…

            “Here for you,” the bartender tapped her shoulder and held out a shot glass to her, Kayi stared at the drink but did not take it as she looked back up at the man cautiously. “It’s from that gentleman over there. I just poured it myself, there’s nothing in there that shouldn't be in a blowjob – excuse the name of the shot, I only mix the drinks.”

            Kayi laughed as she finally took the glass from him, he directed her attention across the large bar to a group of men in suits, she was not sure who exactly bought her the drink but she raised it to the group before downing it. She thanked the bartender and a small smile crept on her lips as the last bit of the bittersweet taste faded from her tongue, it was finally beginning to feel numb and fluttery all at once. Without wasting another moment she headed to the packed dance floor determined to make the most of the temporary high for as long as it would last.

            The blaring music, the strobing lights, the warm bodies, it was everything Kayi needed to reach that euphoric state where she felt nothing yet so alive. Being no shy girl Kayi danced with every person that came across her path, mixed in with the sweaty tangled limbs energy filled her and she laughed away with strangers, many whom were pleased to actually have some fun dancing with someone that knew how to enjoy herself. Kayi spent the next few hours alternating between the dance floor and the bar where there was always a man either willing to pay for her drink or wanted to treat her after dancing together.

            Kayi felt she was having the time of her life when a rather large man picked her up and spun her as she stretched her arms out and cheered, this was truly a much needed and perfect distraction for all her bottled feelings.

            When she finally tired herself Kayi tore away from the crowd and stumbled back to the bar where she asked for a glass of ice water which the bartender delivered to her promptly. Kayi emptied the glass, feeling her head become clearer and she lightly wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand, she must have been out there for a good three hours and the alcohol was beginning to wear off already. She took her phone out and checked for any missed calls or new messages from either her brother or Jungkook but she only had missed calls from that same number that’s been bugging her for the whole week.

            Kayi was about to put her phone away when a girl bumped into her making her drop her phone and thankfully it was only a short drop to the bar counter, the girl apologised in a surly kind of manner before scurrying off and Kayi frowned when she was put back into a bad mood almost instantly as if the last three hours had not happened at all and she was back to sitting on the floor of her house sniffling. Kayi shoved her phone back into her purse as she made her way towards the exit, feeling rather done with this dreadful evening that just can’t seem to get better, but she had to go the long way around the immense crowd and she made it halfway before she was roughly grabbed and pulled into a dark corner on the opposite end of the main doors.

            Of course she made an effort to resist and attempted to pull herself free from the man’s grasp as he pulled her along but he was far too strong for her and she gasped when she came face-to-face with a man wearing a suit. The look in his eyes were dangerous and he managed to get her to an empty back area of the club, away from prying eyes and even the music was muffled here; things didn’t look great and he hasn’t even done anything to her yet.

            “Hey, what’s your problem?” Kayi’s voice came out weaker than she intended it to but she was boldly struggling in his hold. “Let me go, you creep.”

            “Is this how you treat the man who bought you drinks all night?” he pushed against her as he whispered in her ear, both really grossing and freaking her out; it was just her luck to run into such a creep on the night she had the least will to fight back. “Come on, we can have a little fun together, can’t we?”

            “No, back the hell off,” Kayi tried shoving him off but he was too big and his weight felt heavy on her, she began to panic when he leaned towards her face and she felt ever so helpless again as the tears started to form again. “Stop it!”

            “Hey, hey! What do you think you’re doing to _my_ _jagi_ right now?”

            Kayi and the assailant both simultaneously froze and turned to face the unfamiliar voice, it belonged to guy that couldn’t have been much older than Kayi and she couldn’t see his face very well with the darkness but his deep voice was certainly unexpected from his youthful face… but she knew for sure he was a stranger to her and she wasn’t sure what his arrival forebode.

            “Unhand my woman at once!” his eyes narrowed as he stepped towards them. Kayi was so lost and she was sure his intentions were to help her but his choice of words were so odd… it sounded almost like a joke. “Or do I have to fight you?”

            To her surprise the man actually released her and turned to the arrival with a menacing stride. Kayi shivered when she was pushed back deeper into the corner and she hit her back on the cold wall, she watched as the two men sized up against each other and it was shocking that the younger was the taller one between the two. 

            “Jagi, are you all right?” the boy called to her and Kayi could already hardly comprehend the situation before he even showed up but now she was stunned even more so and she couldn’t give him any other response but staring. “Don’t worry baby, I’m coming to save you, okay?”

            Again, Kayi only stared back at him beadily, still skeptical of his reason for rescuing her, but honestly she felt a little more at ease with him here and she went almost speechless when he gave her an almost uncharacteristically bright smile before facing the man. Their conversation was unexpectedly quiet and ended anticlimactically with the other man leaving without even looking back at Kayi and she physically relaxed, the tension finally leaving her legs as she slumped to the ground and rested her head back in relief but her calm was short-lived when her supposed savior walked to her.

            She was usually more open towards strangers (or men) but after what just happened she was on guard even though he had been the one to help her who knew what kinds of intentions he had.

            “You okay?” he asked and she nodded back, ignoring the hand he held out to her as she got back up herself. Even with his warm expression she got a bad feeling about this whole situation.

            “Yeah, thanks but bye-.”

            “Not so fast, you’re staying where you are,” he held onto her arm before she slipped past him and she already didn’t like where this was going. “I want to talk to you.”

            “… Look, thanks for helping me and everything but I’m having a really bad day,” she tried to pull her arm free from him and once again she found herself tussling with an unknown male and again she would really just like this night to end already. “I don’t know what you want but just leave me alone-.”

            “Well I have had a shit week and I don’t care about your problems, alright?” his expression suddenly grew serious and he actually looked quite fearsome, especially with him leaning over her and his face moving close to hers. “Where are my drugs?”

            “… What?” Kayi stared back at him incredulously and she thought he must have been actually mad, she held his gaze for another moment before using all her strength to shove him off and Kayi managed to slip away and made a run around the corner and into the crowd. The club was still as crowded as ever which was great for getting away and she was sure she lost him in the sea of people, she made her way to the exit and she thought that was the last she’ll see of him but then she heard him shouting after her and she immediately ran out of the building and onto the street.

            While he was still stuck inside Kayi quickly rushed down the street, pushing past groups and couples standing around and she eventually found a small alleyway to dart into to hide for the moment. This time she must have lost him and Kayi anxiously reached for her bag checking that she still had everything and was in one piece before edging around the wall and checking if the coast was clear but unfortunately as soon as she peeked around the corner she was pushed backwards and she tried to shout for help but he actually grabbed her face to cover her mouth.

            “Stop struggling,” he looked plain annoyed now as he led her deeper into the alley. “Look I just want to talk. There might be a misunderstanding here… I’m gonna let go and you won’t scream, okay?”

            Kayi tried to nod under his hold but his grip was quite tight and she felt completely helpless, she knew better than to try to scream again and she stayed quiet when he finally let her go. He gave her a stern look before taking a step back and giving her some personal space, he dug his phone out of his pocket and began looking through it.

            “Your name is Kayi, right?”

            “… Yeah, how do you know that?”

            Just as she replied her phone began buzzing in her bag and she exchanged a look with him before she retrieved it, everything instantly clicked together when she saw the same caller ID that has been ringing her the entire week and she turned back to him with glassy eyes as he held up his phone and it displayed that he was calling ‘Kayi-bb’.

            “… You’re Double-Tae then?”

            “Taehyung,” he nodded a quick greeting. “Why didn’t you pick up my calls?”

            “I… I thought you were some desperate guy… I don’t even remember meeting you…”

            “Well I guess I am pretty desperate for my pills back,” he noticed her expression darken and he expected the worst. “What, did you use them?”

            “No… I- what are you talking about?”

            “… Do you really not recognise me, Kayi?” for a moment he looked disappointed and his intensity from earlier seemed to completely vanish as he broke eye contact with her. “That night we met… we were playing together and I put my bag of pills in your bag.”

            “You did what?” Kayi felt as if she finally regained some nerve to face him properly. “Why did you do that?”

            “We were having fun,” he _shrugged_ back at her, his expression now nonchalant and she swore he was about to cross his arms with a tut. “I was worried it’ll fly out of my pocket or something so I asked you if it was okay and you even said it was fine.”

            “And you believed me? Didn’t we just meet that night, we’re practically strangers.”

            “Well at that time I didn’t really have a reason to doubt you… you were sitting on my lap all night and even said you wanted to go home with me after all,” he told her perhaps too bluntly. “I thought I had gotten lucky but then you ran off… Wait I actually have a photo, do you want to see?”

            “Uh- no, it’s fine… I think I believe you,” his description sounded a lot like an accurate summary of her clubbing and boy protocol, and she figured that he didn’t invent this entire story following the week of practically nonstop calls. “Well um… what was it you wanted again?”

            “My drugs.”

            “Right, well I probably still have them… but the problem is they would be in my other purse… which is at home.”

            Taehyung stared back at her, his gaze was hard and she thought he would get mad but he simply sighed and ran a hand through his hair from his fringe and back showing off his rather attractive face. Kayi watched him closely, waiting for his reaction but also noticing for the first time that he was indeed handsome and his soft features really didn’t match his gravelly voice.

            “Fine!” he eventually declared in a loud voice. “I guess we’ll have to go get them then but you better not be messing with me, I’ve got my eyes on you!”

            … Then there was his quirkiness that felt out of the world.

 

 

 

            The bus ride was an awkward one, for one they hardly knew each other (or at least Kayi had no memory of meeting him prior to him chasing her tonight) and second Taehyung turned out to be quite the chatty type once he got talking, and he was especially vocal when he found out she lived in Pyongchang-dong and dubbed her a rich girl from a rich neighborhood; that, Kayi really didn’t have a comeback for since he wasn’t wrong and he didn’t seem to mean it in an unkind way.

It was almost midnight when the bus finally arrived at her neighborhood bus stop, and the first thing she immediately noted was there was no one waiting on the bench meaning that Jungkook must not have come back yet… and she preferred it that way, not wanting him to know that she had left at all or she brought back some guy.

            “Oh my god, you live here?” she heard Taehyung say as she led him down the street and she glanced back at him with a light hum, his eyes were darting all over the place and he looked absolutely thrilled. When he caught her staring he mentioned that it was unreal for him to actually be here since these were the houses he had gotten so used to seeing from afar from school everyday.

            Kayi had been listening rather halfheartedly but she perked up when he mentioned his school was nearby… he couldn’t have been a student at her school, right? “Where do you go?”

            “SBA?”

            “Seoul Boy’s Academy?” Kayi almost snorted. “That’s like the most prestigious private school in the city.”

            “Is it?” he looked back at her innocently, not catching the cynicism in her tone. “How do you know that?”

            “My neighbor goes there,” she said as they walked over her lawn and stopped in front of her house. “Um… so you wait here and I’ll be right back.”

            “How do I know you won’t ditch me?” his voice lowered and Kayi actually laughed, saying he was literally right outside her home and there was no other place for her to run off to even if she wanted to. Taehyung stared at her again and seemed to really consider her words, she was surprised he was so concerned about it especially since they have pretty much worked over their misunderstanding.  “Okay… fine.”

            Taehyung watched her go into her house, she left the door hanging slightly open probably as a gesture of compromise for him and he admit it did make him feel better knowing that she wouldn’t just disappear after agreeing with him. He watched as multiple lights lit up through the windows and he could clear see when she entered the second floor as the lights turned on, she mentioned she might be a little while since she had emptied the bag out earlier and she would have to find the small packet. Taehyung yawned as he looked down at his feet, sticking his hands in his pockets as he swiveled around to face the street.

            Across the lawn on the street was someone on a bike and it wasn’t just anyone but it was his school’s golden boy, every student’s favourite freshman was standing there staring at him beadily. It really felt like his eyes were playing with him because this situation just seemed too unbelievable but then Taehyung remembered Kayi mentioning her neighbor and it suddenly became more believable.

            Without warning Taehyung pulled a hand out of his pocket and raised it up to wave at the younger boy, he gave the boy a bright boxy smile as he waved furiously. “Jeon Jungkook, I’m your fan~! How did the tournament go?”

            Jungkook was obviously taken back and he immediately looked away in mild discomfort as he climbed off his bike, he seemed to contemplate how to respond for a moment before beginning to roll his bike through his house gate. “It was fine, thanks.”

            With that the younger boy vanished behind the tall gate, he left so quickly that Taehyung wasn’t sure he heard him right but he was glad that Jungkook at least responded. Even though they were in different grades the whole school practically adored Jungkook, he was talented and was on almost all the sport teams dividing a lot of his time between basketball and taekwondo, and similar to how many of the other students felt Jungkook was someone that Taehyung respected and admired from afar. 

            Taehyung was in a better mood than earlier and he turned around to see if Kayi was coming out any time soon and he let out a low whine when it didn’t seem as if she was. He pressed his lips together as he took a few steps towards the house and he leaned sideways to peek inside the expansive house and once declaring it was safe he headed in.

            The house already looked big from the outside but it was mindboggling large inside and Taehyung couldn’t stop himself from glancing around as he headed inside after kicking his shoes off, he stopped at an intersection in the hallway and one side seemed to lead into the kitchen while the other the dining room and he guessed right that the stairs were forward. There were three levels but he assumed Kayi would be on the second floor, he went left first and surveyed a few of the rooms as he walked by and it soon became obvious she may have a brother or at least another guy that lived with her. He then headed towards the other end of the hallway and he eventually found her… but in a rather grave… if not awkward way.

            Taehyung swallowed as he watched Kayi undress through the crack of the door and he had every thought to look away when their eyes met first. Taehyung opened his mouth to speak but no words came out and she looked just as speechless as he felt until she snapped out of her trance and calmly lowered her sweatshirt over her chest.

            “You didn’t see anything, right?”

            “Nothing,” he replied as she stepped up to the door and pulled it all the way open, making it seem like he really had been caught peeking and making feel more like a pervert. “… Do you…”

            “Oh yeah,” she reached for something on her dresser and passed him the small packet of pills. “Is this it?”

            “Yup,” he happily received it and counted the pills. “… Kayi there’s one missing.”

            “Is there? How many are there supposed to be…?” she leaned over to examine the packet herself and shrugged convincingly. “I didn’t even know I had these so I wouldn’t know… maybe it was missing to begin with?”

            “… Yeah, probably,” he recounted them again before slipping the packet into his pocket. Now that his business was concluded he somehow felt out of place being in her house much less her bedroom. He turned away from her for a moment and almost jumped when he heard her softly giggle. “What?”

            “No, it’s just that you really mellowed out after getting your stuff back… your expression, I mean.”

            Kayi looked at him for another moment before she began walking and backed him out of the door. “So you’re leaving now, right? … Unless you have something else in mind?”

            “Something like what?” he asked innocently and she couldn’t help but smile, his expression resembled Jungkook’s signature wide-eye so much at that moment she suddenly remembered that he may be returning and checking on her soon.

            “You should go.”

            “Yeah, thanks for- uh,” the image of her changing crossed his mind. “Everything.”

            “Yeah, it’s fine… you probably shouldn’t do so much drugs… I knew a guy that OD-ed, it’s not pretty.”

            “I don’t take them, I sell them,” he told her as they walked down the stairs. He felt a little uneasy when she stated he was a dealer then, she wasn’t wrong but he wasn’t sure how he felt being told that to his face. In the short time he was thinking how to respond to her Kayi spoke first and said that she supposed it wasn’t so bad since everyone had their own circumstances.

            Kayi paused by the front door and gave him a smile as she pulled the door open for him. He was still slipping back into his battered sneakers when he noticed something outside.

            “By the way, are you dating Jungkook?”

            “You know Jungkook?” Kayi lightened up at the mention of his name. “… And no, we’re not dating, why?”

            “You sure he knows that…” Taehyung directed her gaze out the door towards the opposite street where Jungkook was standing with his arms crossed, looking rather furious.

            “Oh, don’t worry about that, it’s normal.”

            “So you guys role-play?”

            “We’re not dating, Taehyung,” she gave him a look before shooing him out the house with a smile and she stepped out after as well. She shut the door behind him and headed cross the lawn. “I’ll see you around then, Taehyung.”

            Taehyung watched her stop in front of Jungkook and he could see the younger boy’s annoyance practically melt away when they began talking. It took no guess that he was completely smitten with her and he supposed she probably was as well with the way she was batting her eyelashes up at him… but wasn’t that also the way she had looked at him earlier?

            He shook his head free of this entire weirdness and continued walking. Kayi turned and waved at him when he reached the street and she just missed the unfriendly look Jungkook sent his way. Taehyung forced a smile back, both to Kayi and Jungkook before leaving.

            Now this was certainly a mess he would be better of staying out of.

 


End file.
